~Annabeth's POV
Not long after Percy had said he wanted something to eat, the group found themselves sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around them, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and soda.
Annabeth had to admit, looking at all the yummy things around her she felt very hungry and when she looked over at Andie and saw her practically drooling over the pasta that just went by her on a waitress's arm, she could tell she was feeling the same way.
Finally, the waitress walked over but she was raising her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"
"We, um, want to order dinner," Percy spoke for the table while the kids nodded in agreement.
"You kids have money to pay for it?"
Annabeth panicked for a second, not knowing whether or not she should start crying to help or to dig through her bag. She knew she didn't have any more money so maybe the helpless card would work. She looked over at Grover and saw that his lower lip quivered slightly. At this point though, Annabeth was desperate to try anything. She was about ready to pass out from hunger and from the looks of Andie laying her head back against the booth, she was too.
Annabeth was trying to think before a giant rumble shook the whole building and a huge motorcycle pulled up.
All the conversations around the diner had stopped. The motorcycle's headlight glared red, its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, both completed with shotguns. Annabeth sighed; you didn't have to be Athena's kid to realize who this was.
Ares, the god of war, walked through the door and he was clad in lots of black leather and red accents. As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through and almost immediately all the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but Ares raised his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everyone went back to their conversations and the group's waitress blinked.
"You kids have money to pay for it?" She asked again.
"It's on me," Ares said as he slid into the booth, which was much too small for him, and he ended up pushing Andie right into Annabeth who ended up being smushed right into the window. He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him. "Are you still here?"
He pointed at the waitress, and she stiffened immediately. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen. Ares looked at Percy and Annabeth found herself growing a little irritated, but she tried her best to keep her anger under control. Ares had that effect.
"So, you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" Ares asked Percy with a wicked grin.
"What's it to you," Percy replied with gritted teeth and Annabeth shot him a warning look, he didn't know who was sitting right in front of him.
"Percy, this is-
"It's alright." Ares cut Annabeth off with a raised hand. "I don't mind a little attitude. As long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"
It seemed as though Percy got smacked in the face with information and the look of realization dawned on his face. "You're Ares, god of war."
"Right, you are, kid." Ares nodded before clasping his hands together. "So, your quest is going to fail. Ask me how I know."
Annabeth knit her eyebrows together, she'd only seen Ares a few times during the winter solstice field trips, but he still managed to keep her on her toes with his emotions. Being the god of war, he tended to be very short-tempered tempered but there were times when he just wanted entertainment, and this seemed like one of those times.
"It isn't going to fail." Percy shot back.
"Sure, it is." Ares shrugged before sighing slightly. "Anyways, what I'm here for, I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."
Just then, the waitress had come back with trays of all sorts of food. Annabeth's stomach growled at the sight, and she couldn't help but lick her lips when the waitress set everything down. Annabeth watched as Ares handed her a few drachmas and she looked very troubled down at the coins in her hands.
"But these aren't-
Ares pulled out a huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"
The waitress looked pained, but she quickly scurried off with the gold.
"You can't do that," Percy told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."
Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."
"What favor could we do for a god?"
"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little...date...with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield before, and I want you to fetch it for me."
"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"
Annabeth was about ready to jump across the table and throttle Percy herself.
"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is allowing you to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."
"We're not interested," Percy said. "We've already got a quest."
Annabeth didn't need to see Ares' face to know that he was growing angrier by the second.
"Oh, I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful . . ." Ares trailed off, huffing slightly before continuing. "Well... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back."
Annabeth saw that Percy went to speak at Ares' last comment, but she kicked him from under the table, making him glare at her but he kept his mouth shut.
"But safe to say, the chances of you three idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A. without getting arrested are slim to none." Ares spoke with a shrug and Annabeth knew she shouldn't have let her anger take over, especially since she just scolded Percy, but she couldn't help herself to comment.
"Why are you sitting here then?" She asked and Ares turned his head to look at her, making Andie squish her head down uncomfortably between the two. "If you're supposed to be looking for the master bolt too, shouldn't you be out there looking for it?"
"Hm," Ares smirked. "There's no fear in you, is there?"
Annabeth shrugged her shoulder sassily, making Ares roll his eyes.
"Doesn't matter. Whether the bolt's retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon."
"No. The Oracle said if we return the bolt, there wouldn't be a war." Percy argued.
"Is that what she said? Or is that what Chiron said she meant?" Ares retorted, making Percy shut up fast and even Annabeth had to think about that for a second, but she quickly deemed that Ares was just trying to get a rise out of them. "Yeah. You're new to the family, young one, so let me fill you in on how we work. See, years before I was born, my grandpa Kronos ate my aunts and uncles. Yeah. Then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into a million pieces and chucked 'em into a bottomless pit, so that kind of set the tone right out of the gate. Olympians fight. We betray. We backstab. We will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead. And that's why I love my family so much. My dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases. He knows there's a war coming. And in reality, I think he's okay with that. I think he feels it's just time for a war, so we're going to have a war."
After his long-winded speech, he inhaled deeply, looking down at his plate before looking back up with a smile.
"Isn't that great?" He asked joyfully before a whimsical sigh. "I love wars."
"We're completing this quest. We're stopping this war. You said you can help. Can you?" Percy asked and Annabeth couldn't help but smile at his confidence.
"Okay, so here it is. There's an amusement park up the road. I left my shield there. You get me my shield back, and I'll get you to the Underworld by lunch tomorrow with a plan to invade Hades's palace." Ares explained.
"You left your shield? Like, forgot it on the merry-go-round?" Annabeth asked without thinking and Ares turned so quick he almost hit Andie's head with his own.
"Okay. The chirping was funny to me for a minute, but it is getting old." He growled. "So, do we have a deal, or am I killing all three of you so I can eat in peace?"